Data Science- a step towards innovation !

Data science is the next wave of innovation with the potential to transform every stage of new drug discovery and development process. Leveraging advanced data analytics represents a significant opportunity for the pharma industry.

In this bio-economy, data science is rapidly expanding as the raw material of business and economic output on par with the capital and labour. We stand at the dawn of data age where data is quickly becoming 21st century’s global economic fue.

IDC forecasts that 20 per cent of the data produced in 2025 will belong to data sets that run the risk of being disruptive or even life threatening, if unavailable at any moment. Unorganised data is useless. But when it is analysed, structured and interpreted it becomes valuable knowledge, stated the Biocon chief at the BioEconomy 2018 conclave held recently in Bengaluru.

Data has been collected and collated for centuries even in the absence of computing power. Data science for drug research is an answer to many new medical mysteries. Bioinformatics, a specialised line of data science helps revolutionize new concepts for novel molecules. Scientists have made massive efforts to read genetic material.

Further, advances in data science are leading to accurate predictions of the interactions between novel drugs. One of the most critical steps in evaluating any potential drug target involves testing its toxicity in animal models.

“Data science is beginning to transform clinical development approach and promises to enable faster, safer and less expensive clinical trials. Pharma companies are using multiple ways including social media and public health data bases to identify which population would benefit most with new drugs. Computer simulated models for the development of a medicinal product are gaining popularity. Leveraging advanced data analytics represent a real and significant opportunity for the pharma industry.”